train vs snowmobile
Amsnow
A train derailment is messy - also costly and dangerous. An accident a few years back illustrates how trains and snowmobiles don't mix.
In this case an Alco locomotive on the Ontario Midland Railroad, a New York state short line, was derailed. Cause? Snowmobiles running on a train's right-of-way. Constant use of the track by snowmobilers had packed the snow and ice extremely tight on the tracks.
The train had departed, snowplow equipped, from Sodus, N.Y., bound for Wolcott, N.Y., just 12 miles away. Because of heavy snowpack, the crew was cautious, going 6 mph. While on its journey, the lead truck hit hard-pack snow that lifted the locomotive off the rails. Veering, then rolling onto its left side, the train derailed down a slope, wheels pointed to the sky. Luckily neither the conductor nor the engineer was seriously injured.
Only a few small trees kept the Alco from slipping further down the embankment, but crews worked hard for the next 28 hours to get the train upright again.
Moral? When conditions are icy, stay away from train tracks that are in use, stick to abandoned railways and former right-of-ways. Snowmobilers should be the good guys, not the bad guys. We all can find a safer place to ride.
Check out the full article in TRAINS magazine's December 2006 issue.